goodrichard.com

Only a handful of creations in transport conjure up both feelings of sensation and sadness, but Concorde was one of them. The baby from an Aérospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation marriage, the supersonic passenger airliner first took to the skies commercially in 1976. Beautiful, graceful, and flying from London and France to the US in less than half the time of other airliners, onlookers were stunned when Concorde made its début flight, and saddened when it was retired 27 years later.

Setting many records in its 27-year life, Concorde boasted an average cruise speed of Mach 2.02 (1,330mph), thanks in part to its double-delta wings. With success came tragedy, though, and on 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed just outside Paris, killing all 104 passengers and crew on board. Flights resumed in 2001, but Concorde never recovered, and its final flight, G-BOAF, was from London Heathrow to Bristol, on 24 October 2003. The ultimate form of luxury travel, only 20 aircraft were ever built.

Did you know?
Travelling supersonically, the heat generated by the compression of air made Concorde’s fuselage extend by up to 300mm, opening a gap on the flight deck between the flight engineer’s console and the bulkhead. To avoid overheating the aluminium structure, the majority of the supersonic liner’s surface had to be white, and so liveries were restricted.

Have your say
Do you agree with Royal Mail’s choices for the British Design Classics stamps series? What design icons would you like to see immortalised on postage stamps? Leave a comment below and tell us what would make your top 10 list.

No, not something that can be added to the Mini car’s body, but a short skirt with a hemline usually about 20 centimetres above the knee. A defining ladies’ fashion garment, the miniskirt (along with the Mini) encapsulates the style that defined the 1960s. English fashion designer Mary Quant was inspired by the short skirt designs of Courrèges, and in 1965 made even shorter garments. As she was at the heart of the fashion scene in London at the time, the miniskirt was able to transcend the high streets and become an international trend.

The miniskirt made less of an impact on fashion in the 1970s with critics noting that the garment couldn’t get much smaller. But, the miniskirt never really went away, with cheerleaders wearing a variation in the 1980s and 1990s, and the ‘rah-rah’ and ‘puffball’ creations becoming popular. The hot summer of 2006 brought the miniskirt back full circle, with many being worn by women in London once more.

Did you know?
Jean Shrimpton caused a stir on Derby Day at the Melbourne Cup in Australia in October 1965 by wearing a short white shift dress by Colin Rolfe. Causing a sensation, Shrimpton reported that the designer had run out of material, but it was too late; the miniskirt had started a new fashion trend.

Of all the objects in the British Design Classics stamps series, the polypropylene chair is probably in everyday use the most, even to the extent that it’s taken for granted and not noticed. Yet, Robin Day‘s plastic seat is one of the most enduring classic British designs. Over 20 million have been made since its introduction in 1963, and the chair is to be commonly found in workplaces, schools, and shops up and down the country; there’s probably one near you right now.

Day had created the seating in the Royal Festival Hall in 1951, and originally designed the injection moulded polypropylene seat with an enamelled bent tubular base for Hille International, inspired by the Eames’ ‘Plastic Shell’ fibreglass chair from the 1950s. To be of low cost, durable, and lightweight, thermoplastic was decided to be a fit material for the job, also lending itself to be tough when the chairs were stacked.

Did you know?

The polypropylene chair was one of the first pieces of furniture (if not the first) to fully make use of the mass-manufacturing opportunities of injection moulding, and has yet to be replaced. Its ordinary but extraordinary design has guaranteed its place in culture.

A product of the 1956 Suez Crisis petrol rationing, there are few cars that reach iconic status, but despite its diminutive size, the 3-metre long Mini is one of them. Introduced onto the UK streets in 1959, the Mini truly was ground breaking in the fact over 80 percent of the car’s total size could be used for the transport of luggage and passengers. The space-saving transverse engine, front-wheel drive layout designed by Sir Alec Issigonis has been used in almost every other small car since, irrespective of manufacturer.

The basic car spawned five versions, the Clubman, the Traveller/Countryman estate, the Van, the Pick-Up, and the Jeep-like Mini Moke. Of course, the racing tuned Cooper and Cooper S variants are arguably the most famous, scoring three Monte Carlo Rally victories. In 1999, the Mini came second in a poll to find the most influential car of the 20th Century, and production halted a year later, when BMW sold the Rover Group, keeping the Mini brand for its new small car model line. A total of 5,387,862 Minis had been manufactured.

Did you know?
The Mini’s simple and cheap philosophy extended to the sliding windows in the doors. Why sliding windows? Storage pockets were fitted in the space where a winding window mechanism would have been. Rumour has it that Mini creator Issigonis is said to have sized these storage bins to take a bottle of his favourite Gordon’s Gin, or more probably, milk.

Just like Harry Beck’s underground map, the AEC Routemaster is as synonymous with London, as the black cab and Beefeaters. Introduced in 1956, and built until 1968, the classic front-engined open rear platform bus was developed in partnership with London Transport, although the Capital wasn’t the only place in the UK which Routemasters were seen in service.

A team led by A A Durrant and Colin Curtis developed the 64-seat Routemaster, with techniques borrowed from Second World War aircraft production, such as the use of lightweight aluminium. The iconic double-decker bus gave continuous service in London until 2005, and outlasted many of its replacements, which is a testament to the original design by Douglas Scott. Around 1,000 Routemasters are still thought to be in existence, from a 2,876 production run.

Did you know?
The Routemaster still takes passengers around the Capital on two heritage routes (from the Royal Albert Hall to Aldwych, and Trafalgar Square to Tower Hill), and several were painted silver and then gold for the Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilees  in 1977 and 2002 respectively.